Thursday October 5 2023, 19:00
The Annex Central Plaza, Dame Street, D02 A3X7
Tickets on Eventbrite
The AAI is proud to present, for the first time, an evening of architecture as Gaeilge.
AAI x Ailtireachtúil
The AAI is proud to present the first event of Ailtireachtúil, an initiative founded to strengthen and encourage the connection between architecture and the Irish language.
Please join Yvonne Farrell – Grafton Architects, Darragh Breathnach – DUA, Seamus Bairéad – Wrkshop Architects, Eibhlín Ní Chathasaigh – Ithirlann, Tara NicGearailt – SAUL Graduate, and Orla O’Kane – AAI President, for an AAI first – an evening of architecture in Irish.
All welcome.
Tá bród ar an AAI an chéad ocáid d’Ailtireachtúil a chur i láthair, gníomhaíocht a bunaíodh chun an gaol idir ailtireacht agus an Ghaeilge a neartú.
Tagaigí agus bígí le Yvonne Farrell – Grafton Architects, Darragh Breathnach – DUA, Seamus Bairéad – Wrkshop Architects, Eibhlín Ní Chathasaigh – Ithirlann, Tara NicGearailt – Céimí SAUL, agus Orla O’Kane – Uachtarán AAI, don chéad uair don AAI – oíche d’ailtireacht agus Gaeilge.
Fáilte roimh cách.
Yvonne Farrell
Yvonne Farrell, along with Shelley McNamara co-founded Grafton Architects in 1978 having graduated from University College Dublin in 1974. She is a Fellow of the RIAI, International Honorary Fellow of the RIBA and elected member of Aosdána, the eminent Irish Art organisation. In 2018, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara were the Curators of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Their manifesto: Freespace was the title of the Biennale.
Recently completed projects include The Town House Building, Kingston University London; The School of Economics for the University of Toulouse 1 Capitol; Institut Mines Télécom University Building, Paris Saclay, The Marshall Institute, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, for the London School of Economics; Headquarters for Electricity Supply Board (ESB) with OMP architects in Dublin.
In 2019, the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) awarded the RIAI James Gandon Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Architecture to Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, of Grafton Architects. The Gandon Medal is the highest personal award given to an Architect in Ireland. The practice was presented with the 2020 RIBA Royal Gold Medal in London. Grafton Architects were the winners of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies Van der Rohe Award 2022 for the Townhouse, Kingston University London. Yvonne Farrell, along with Shelley McNamara, were selected as the 2020 Pritzker Prize Laureates, the award that is known internationally as architecture’s highest honour.
Darragh Breathnach B.Arch (MRIAI)
Darragh Breathnach studied at DIT Dublin School of Architecture and is a registered member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland. After graduating in 2010, he worked for ‘RCR Arquitectes’, ODOS Architects, and WAV Architects, before founding DUA in 2015.
DUA [Design Urbanism Architecture] is a multi-award winning urban design, architecture and design practice in Dublin, Ireland, that believes in high-quality holistic design where materiality, detail and the client’s needs are intimately connected. They believe architecture should be contextual, experiential and material-focused, involving as many senses as possible and not merely visual or restrained by pre-conceived conventions. They have worked on a broad range of projects covering a variety of scales and functions, including Product Design, Furniture Design, Exhibition Design, Residential, Commercial, and Cultural Buildings and Masterplanning, and completed 50 plus projects to date, many of which have won awards, been featured in exhibitions and been published worldwide.
Eibhlín Ní Chathasaigh – Architect MAA MRIAI
Tá suim ag Eibhlín, i ngníomh sóisialta na hailtireachta, agus sa dearadh mar chomhrá comhoibríoch. Bhunaigh sí ITHIRLANN i bpáirt le James Martin in 2022 – cleachtas ábhar-tiomanta le “gníomhartha tógála” á gcíoradh trí cheardlanna le cur chuige comhoibríoch. Dhein Eibhlín ionadaíocht ar an Danmhairg ag an Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2021, leis an tionscadal Soil Lab, i gcomhar le James Martin, Maria Bruun is Anne Dorthe Vester. D’fhoilsíodar machnamh criticiúil ar chruthú Soil Lab ‘A built experiment’ le déanaí. Is Comhalta Deartha í Eibhlín i gColáiste na hOllscoile, B.Á.C. agus Léachtóir Cúnta in TU Bhaile Átha Cliath chomh maith.
Eibhlín is interested in the social act of architecture and design as a collaborative conversation. She established ITHIRLANN in 2022 with James Martin, a materials driven practice, exploring “acts of building” through collaborative workshops. Eibhlín represented Denmark at the Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2021, with the project Soil Lab, with James Martin, Maria Bruun & Anne Dorthe Vester. They recently published a critical reflection on the making of Soil Lab ‘ A built experiment ‘. Eibhlín is currently Assistant Lecturer in TU Dublin and Design Fellow at University College Dublin.
Séamus Bairéad MRIAI, B.Arch (hons) SAUL
Séamus graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Limerick in 2014. He currently teaches 4th year students of architecture at SAUL, an elective module in advanced timber construction, and has been a key leader of the SAUL Intelligence Unit urban research group. He has worked internationally in China, with Hoken Design, and Colombia, with Giancarlo Mazzanti, and has previously been an associate at A2 Architects after working for James Corbett Architects in Limerick. He has collaborated on sculptural projects with various artists including Nicolas Paris, on Resistance Exercises, and Just Left of Copernicus with Niamh McCann. Séamus has previously been chairperson of Open House Limerick, and he is currently the Awards officer for the Architectural Association of Ireland.
He is a Director of Wrkshop Architects, which was founded in 2019 by Séamus Bairéad, David Williams and David McInerney. They are based in Dublin, working throughout Ireland on new housing, public buildings and urban spaces with a focus on social and environmental sustainability and intelligent building responses. Since 2019 their work has been recognised and exhibited at the Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, and at the Tallinn Architecture Biennale, Estonia. In 2022 Wrkshop Architects were winners of the RIAI Town Challenge special award, the Creative Ireland Decarbonising Together project, and the Workhouse Union Town Ecologies award.
Tara NicGearailt
Tá céim san Ailtireacht bainte amach ag Tara Nic Gearailt i SAUL, An Scoil Ailtireachta in Ollscoil Luimní i mbliana. Sa tráchtas a dhein sí don chéim, fíosraíonn sí ról na hailtireachta i gcaomhnú gnéithe den chultúr a chuireann lenár bhféiniúlacht agus go háirithe lenár dteanga dhúchais. Fuair sí a cuid paisin don teanga i gCorca Dhuibhne, an ceantar Gaeltachta in iarthar Chiarraí inar tógadh í. Tá spéis faoi leith aici i gcaomhnú na teanga agus i gcaomhnú na hailtireachta. I mbaile an Daingin, tá foirgneamh a chuaigh i bhfeidhm go mór uirithi, foirgneamh le stíl láidir ailtireachta agus le aghaidh shiméadrach. Tá Pictiúrlann an Phoenix ar cheann de na pictiúrlanna is sine dá leithéid in Éirinn. Go dtí le déanaí, ba spás é ina bhféadfadh daoine teacht le chéile chun blaiseadh de chultúir ó mhórthimpeall an domhain. Thóg Tara an sórt pictiúrlainne a bhíodh in Éirinn sna seanlaethanta agus atá anois le feiscint i mbailte móra agus beaga ar fud na tíre agus iad folamh is ag dul in olcas agus d’fhéach sí ar conas a d’fhéadfaí úsáid chultúrtha a bhaint as na spásanna seo a bhí chomh lárnach sa phobal seo tráth. Áiteanna scannánaíochta ab ea iad, áiteanna ina mbíodh ceol, rince, comhluadar agus cumarsáid. Bhí Tara den tuairim go gcaithfimid filleadh arís ar na spásanna seo agus an bheocht a chur thar n-ais iontu. Ligint dóibh bláthú ionas go mbeidh tábhacht chultúrtha leo arís. Díon d’fhéiniúlacht na nGael.
D’oibrigh Tara d’ailtirí McCulloughMulvin i mBaile Átha Cliath mar ailtire páirt a haon, le linn di a bheith ag staidéar dá céim. Bhí baint aici le raon leathan de thionscadail éagsúla agus comórtaisí ailtireachta chomh maith le tionscadail chaomhnaithe. Spreag a cuid oibre suim faoi leith inár n-oidhreacht thógtha agus i gcaomhnú na hoidhreachta sin.
I rith Seachtain na Gaeilge i Márta na bliana seo, d’eagraigh sí ocáid i SAUL, Comhrá Ailtireachta as Gaeilge. Tháinig scoláirí ó bhlianta difriúla le chéile agus labhair siad faoin obair a bhí ar bun acu sa stiúideo ag an am. Tá Tara den tuairim go bhfuil tábhacht ag baint le comhráite Ailtireachta dá leithéid seo chun foclóir de théarmaí ailtireachta a fhorbairt agus chun foghlaim ó shaíocht na Gaeilge.
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Tara Nic Gearailt recently graduated from her studies at SAUL, School of Architecture University of Limerick. She completed her thesis Traidisiún a Chaomhnú, an teanga and cultúr agus na healaíona which investigates the role architecture has or can have in preserving cultural ideals which strengthen our expression and sense of identity, with a particular emphasis on the Irish language.
She gained her appreciation for the Irish language having grown up in the Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne, Kerry. Her interests are in the preservation of the language and the built heritage. The site she focused on for her thesis was a derelict Art Deco cinema, The Phoenix Cinema, which in itself held a huge cultural and historical importance within Dingle town. She took the typology of the Old Irish Cinema as an existing infrastructure that lies empty within many towns scattered across our island and looked to repurpose these spaces that once acted as cultural hearths within our communities. Aural and oral elements were integral to the project which focused on creating a Cultúrlann, a place where language, song, dance, and lore can thrive, where culture can flourish once more, a place to house Irish Identity.
Tara worked for McCulloughMulvin Architects as a part 1 architect during her gap year. She gained experience working on a wide variety of projects including conservation projects and developed a deep passion for our built heritage.
During Seachtain na Gaeilge in March 2023, Tara organised an architecture event as Gaeilge in SAUL, a Comhrá Ailtireachta, an architecture conversation in Irish where students from different years who had Irish gathered and presented their work. Such architecture conversations are important, for the development of architectural terms as Gaeilge, we can learn from the wealth of knowledge the language holds as it has a deep connection to traditions, nature, culture and the heritage of who we are.